Hermetically sealed container



July 5, 1938. H. E. TOWNSEND Filed Oct. 23, 1933 Patented July 5, 1938 PATENT: OFFICE nsm'ncmr sump comma Harry E. Townsend, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Title Guarante and Trust Company executor of the eltateofsaidHarryE, Townsend, deceased Application October 2:, 1933, Serial No. 694,831 1 Claim. (01. 215-40) My invention relates to hermetically sealed containers.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a container and closure of such constructionthat food to be preserved can be placed in the container in an uncooked or unsterile condition, the closure hermetically sealed on the container with or without vacuum, and the sealed package subjected to cooking or sterilizing heat 10 without danger of impairing the hermetic seal or subjecting the package to excessive internal pressure.

Another object is to provide a container of the character indicated which is so constructed that 15 during the sterilizing or cooking operation, when excessive pressure is generated within the hermetically sealed package, the hermetic seal is momentarily broken to relieve the pressure and the package immediately re-sealed automatically.

2 Another object is to provide a construction in a container and closure to be used in the indicated manner, whereby the closure may be sealed on the container without a vacuum, the sealed package subjected to sterilizing or cooking heat,

25 and upon the cooling of the package, a vacuum or partial vacuum created therein.

Another object is to provide a package of the indicated type in which a liquid or semi-liquid content may be maintained for a predetermined 30 time at a temperature corresponding with its boiling point, without causing the contents to boil and without causing the pressure in the package to rise above a predetermined degree.

, Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved package of this character in which the closure may be easily removed and replaced on the container with or without the gasket, the closure when replaced being held by frictional engagement with the container.

40 I attain these and other objects by means of the construction illustrated in the-accompanying drawing in which: n t Figure 1 is a side elevation of a container and closure embodying my invention with the 45 closure shown partly in section;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 2--2 Fig. l, but showing the closure in the position it may assume at the beginning of the gasket compressing operation;

'50 Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the closure sealed on the container;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the closure as it may be momentarily lifted to relieve excessive internal pressure that may be 55 generated while the sealed package is being sub- Jected to sterilizing or heat, the extent to which the closure may be so lifted being somewhat exaggerated, as shown;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 showing an implement in position to remove the clo- 5 sure from the container;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; and.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of a modiiication of the invention. v 10 The preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, of the drawing, comprises a glass jar 2, a sheet metal cap 4 and an elastic gasket 6.

The jar is provided with a cylindrical mouth portion. 8 of considerable depth, and is further provided, at the bottom of the cylindrical portion, with a narrow horizontal shoulder II and a downwardly and outwardly sloping annular shoulder or face I2. 2

The gasket 6, which is preferably rectangular in cross-section, is positioned over the mouth portion 8 of the jar and upon the horizontal shoulder ID. The gasket is made slightly smaller in diameter than. the cylindrical mouth portion so as to cause it to tend to hug the mouth portion when placed thereon.

The cap 4 is provided with a flat top portion I4, and a skirt having a crown portion E8, an

outwardly extending portion i8 and preferably with a downwardly extending portion 20, terminating in the curled over portion 22. The closure can be sealed on the container by passing it over the cylindrical mouth portion 8 of the container and pressing it down on the gasket .35

seated on the shoulder l0.

Except as hereinafter described, the parts above referred to may be the same as parts of the device illustrated, described and claimed in my U. 5.. Patent No. 2,099,710, issued November23, 1937.

, and hermetically re-sealed.

As shown, the cylindrical mouth portion I of the container is provided with a plurality of projections or nubs 24, which project outwardly a distance slightly less than the distance between the cylindrical mouth portion and the crown it of the closure. These projections are preferably curved circumfeientiaily of the jar,

asshowninl 'lg.o,andfromapoint near their tops are tapered downwardly and inwardly so that these parts of the projections form portions of inverted cones, the upper portions of the projections, being beveled toward the edgeof the mouth portion. In the crown ll of the closure there is formed aninwardly projecting annular head or groove II, the inner diameter of which is slightly great-- er than the cylindrical mouth portion I of the container, but less than the diameter of a circle bounding the most outwardly lying portions of the projections 24.

when the closure is forced down over the mouth of the container, the annular; head is distorted from a true circle as it passes over the most outwardly extending portions of the projections 24, and, although this distortion becomes less as the closure is pushed down to scaling p sitlon, it is still present to some degree as shownin Fig. 6. The constricting influence or tension of the distorted bead, as it bears on theidownwardly and inwardly tapering surfaces'of the projections, readily urges the closure in the downward. direction with suflicient force to compress the gasket and seal the closure on the container independently of atmospheric pressure.

This construction provides the advantage that the container can be filled with an uncooked or' unsterilized product, the closure sealed on the container with or without a vacuum, and the sealed package subjected to cooking or sterilizing heat for any desired length of time without danger of displacing the closure or subjecting the package to excessive internal pressure. When the closure is initially sealed on the container without a vacuum the head space of the package is, of course, filled with air, and it is very desirable that as much as possible of this air be expelled from the package, not only that the resulting vacuum may aid in holding the closure securely sealed on the container, but because the oxygen of the air is harmful to many food products. It may also be desirable in some cases to maintain the contents of the package at a temperature corresponding with their boiling point but without permitting boiling to occur. If the contents are allowed to boil and, therefore, to vaporize, some of the vapor will be forced out of the package, in consequence of which, the package willlose-weight.

With the construction described it is possible to expel the air from a package that has been sealed without a vacuum and then to maintain the contents at. a temperature corresponding with their boiling point without causing the contents to boil. This is so, because, as the temperature of the package increases, the air in the head spaces expands and the closure is lifted (Fig. 4) sufllciently to permit a portion of the air to escape, whereupon the constantly present constricting influence of the head 26 on the projections 24 again instantly urges the closure to rescaling position. When enough of the air has escaped so that what remains has not enough expansive force to lift the closure, the slight pressure it exerts upon the surface of the liquid contents of the package is sufllcient to prevent the contents from boiling even though they may be at boiling temperature. The package remains hermetically sealed at the end of the cooking or sterilizing operation and no further attention to the seal is necessary. 0! course, the contents of aisaoes a package subjected to this process'are absolutely sterile.

It will be apparent thatthe sise, spacing and inclination of the projections and the diameter of the tension bead of the closure may be varied to meet different conditions. With the use of jars or tumblers having their mouth portions approximately two and one-half inches in diameter, satisfactory results have been secured with the .use of six projections on the jar which are of short radius in cross section and are otherwise proportioned as shown in the drawing, the bead on the cap being of proper diameter and the resiliency of the material of the cap being such as to obtain the required tension when the cap is applied.

When it is desired to remove the closure from the container this may be easily done by inserting a pointed implement between the lower edge of the skirt of the closure and the downwardly sloping surface I! of the container so that its point is in position to rest on the horizontal shoulder ID, as shown in Fig. 5. In this position the point of the implement is a considerable distance above the lower edge of the skirt of the closure and some distance inwardly therefrom which gives suiilcient leverage so that a single upward movement'of the tool will pry the closure entirely free of the container.

When it is desired to provide a closure that can be used in the indicated manner and that is at the same time adapted'to be re-sealed on the container without the gasket, the closure may be made as illustrated in Fig. '7. In this case, the

inside diameter of the crown of the closure is my invention permits various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

The combination of a container having 9. cylindrical mouth portion and a gasket seating shoulder positioned a distance below the top of said cylindrical portion, an elastic gasket seated on said shoulder, and a closure of resilient material having a cylindrical crown portion adapted to fit over said cylindrical mouth portion and a portion below said cylindrical crown portion adapted to compress said gasket on said shoulder, said cylindrical mouth portion of the container being provided with a plurality of spaced projections having the lower portions of their outertapering faces of said projections, the constricting eifect of said head urges the closure in a downward direction and holds said gasket compressing portion of the closure in yieldable engagement with said gasket.

HARRY E. TOWNSEND. 

